India was declared as the ‘Guest of honor country’ for
the prestigious 15th Abu Dhabi Festival(ADF) to be held in March 2018 in Abu Dhabi
at a packed press conference held at the Emirates Palace Auditorium today onNovember 27, 2017.

The Festival will be held under the patronage of His
Excellency Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, UAE Minister of Tolerance. ADF
2018 will be a month long festival celebrating art and culture and selection of
India as Guest of Honor country is significant in 2018 being celebrated as the
‘Year of Zayed’. ADF 2018 will gather more than 500 international artistes and
40 composers from 30 countries. Indian Artists of eminence will participate at
the event and the highlights are:

·Performance
of Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, one of the 20th century’s greatest masters of Sarod;

·Workshops
by Gilles Chuyen, who has been trained in France in Folk, Modern Ballet and
Contemporary dance styles and as choreographer and works extensively with
Bollywood; and

·Collaboration
between Rajeev Kumar and UAE’s Mohammed Mandi, both eminent calligraphists,
from India and UAE respectively.

·Umm
AL Emarat Park will showcase ‘The Raghu Dixit Project’ one of India’s most
exciting live acts with some of the finest musicians.

Mr Navdeep Suri, Indian Ambassador to the UAE stated “It
is a matter of pride that India has been chosen as the Guest of Honour for the
2018 edition of Abu Dhabi Festival. We look forward to working closely with Her
Excellency Huda AlKhamis-Kanoo and her team to bring some of the finest
elements of Indian culture to the arts loving people of Abu Dhabi.” Speaking
about India’s role as Guest of Honour, Ambassador Suri continued, “Cultural
effort that India or the Indian Community has made in this country has principally
been directed toward the Indian Community. By collaborating with ADF 2018 we
hope to supplement these efforts to take Indian culture mainstream and make
sure that there is a much better understanding of an India beyond Bollywood.
That is why the focus is on showcasing some of India’s magnificent diversity”
He hoped that ADF 2018 will provide opportunity to non-Indians to enjoy Indian
culture and Indians to enjoy cultures of many participating countries.